George Hsieh

Hsieh Kuo-liang
謝國樑
Official portrait, 2022
11th Mayor of Keelung
Incumbent
Assumed office
25 December 2022
DeputyChiu Pei-lin
Preceded byLin Yu-chang
Member of the Legislative Yuan
In office
1 February 2005 – 1 February 2016
Succeeded byTsai Shih-ying
ConstituencyKeelung
Personal details
Born (1975-10-05) 5 October 1975 (age 50)
Keelung, Taiwan
PartyKuomintang (since 2006)
People First Party (until 2006)
EducationUniversity of Southern California (BA)
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MS)
National Chengchi University (LLM)
George Hsieh
Traditional Chinese謝國樑
Simplified Chinese谢国梁
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinXiè Guóliáng
Wade–GilesHsieh4 Kuo2-liang2

Hsieh Kuo-liang (Chinese: 謝國樑; pinyin: Xiè Guóliáng; born 5 October 1975), also known by his English name George Hsieh, is a Taiwanese politician and media proprietor who has been the 11th mayor of Keelung since 2022. A member of the Kuomintang (KMT), he previously served in the Legislative Yuan from 2005 to 2016.[1]

Early life and education

Hsieh was born in Keelung, Taiwan, on October 5, 1975.[2] His grandfather, Hsieh Ching-yun, was the owner of a prominent Keelung business cooperative, and his father, Hsieh Hsiu-ping, was a KMT legislator in the National Assembly who served as the speaker of the Keelung City Council. His mother, Lin Man-li, was an affiliate of the glass manufacturing company Taiwan Glass Group.[3]

After attending Er-hsin High School [zh],[4] Hsieh graduated from the University of Southern California with a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in sociology in 2001. He then studied technology management at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and earned a Master of Science (M.S.) from the MIT Sloan School of Management in 2003.[2] His master's thesis was titled, "VC's Decision Factor in Semiconductor Investment."[5] He later earned a Master of Laws (LL.M.)[6] from National Chengchi University in 2012. His LL.M. dissertation was titled, "A study of an extradition dilemma in the ROC" (引渡困境之檢討).[7]

Business career

After graduating from MIT, Hsieh worked for The China Post and founded Hualien Media International.[8]

Entry into politics

Hsieh renounced his U.S. citizenship to contest the 2004 legislative election as a member of the People First Party.[9] He joined the Kuomintang in 2006, and represented Keelung in the Legislative Yuan until 2016. In 2009, he proposed an amendment to the Computer-Processed Personal Data Protection Act that would make it legal for elected officials to examine personal records without informing the individual subject to investigation.[10] The next year, Hsieh was named the co-chair of the Judiciary and Organic Laws and Statutes Committee.[11] In 2013, Next Magazine reported that he and a small group of legislators had been subject to wiretapping by the Ministry of Justice since 2011.[12] Hsieh was the party's top choice to run for the mayoralty of Keelung City in 2014, after original candidate Huang Ching-tai's nomination had been withdrawn.[13] He repeatedly refused the mayoral nomination and campaigned for Hsieh Li-kung instead.[14][9] In February 2015, George Hsieh announced that he would not seek reelection, because his party had been soundly defeated in the November 2014 local elections.[15]

Keelung mayoralty

In May 2022, the Kuomintang nominated Hsieh as its candidate for the Keelung mayoralty in the local elections.[16] Hsieh defeated Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) candidate and legislator Tsai Shih-ying [zh].[17]

A CommonWealth Magazine published survey results in September 2023 ranking Hsieh at No. 21 of 22 of major mayors and magistrates in terms of approval ratings. A DPP city councillor attributed Hsieh's low approval ratings to his breaking of campaign promises, including COVID-19 pandemic related subsidies.[18]

In June 2024, a campaign to recall Hsieh garnered 36,000 signatures and exceeded the threshold needed to initiate a recall vote.[19] The campaign organizers submitted the petition with 40,000 signatures on 5 July.[20] The Central Election Commission certified 36,909 of 43,137 submitted signatures in August, and scheduled the recall election for 13 October.[21][22] The Keelung City Election Commission later announced that 283 polling stations would be set up for the election.[23][24] With all polling stations reporting, 86,014 voted for Hsieh to remain in office, and 69,934 for his recall. In all seven districts of Keelung, a majority of voters rejected the recall of Hsieh.[25][26]

Personal life

Hsieh is a Christian.[27] He married Veronica Kuo Chung-wei, a former fashion model,[28] in 2013.[29] She was baptized a Christian in 2022.[27] They have a daughter who was born in 2017 with congenital hearing loss.[29]

References

  1. ^ "Keelung Mayor Hsieh Kuo-liang" (in Chinese (Taiwan)). Keelung City Government. 2021-09-11. Retrieved 2026-01-11.
  2. ^ a b "Who's Who in the ROC [2012]" (PDF). Executive Yuan. 2012. p. 485. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 October 2016. Retrieved 5 May 2016.
  3. ^ Yu, Chuan (2022-11-05). "Hsieh Kuo-liang Enters Keelung Election Campaign, Hoping to Create a "Loving City" for His Daughter" (in Chinese (Taiwan)). Fount Media (放言). Retrieved 2026-01-11.
  4. ^ Chang, Chi-kang (2022-11-19). "Hsieh Kuo-liang: "I did attend Er-hsin High School"". China Times (in Chinese (Taiwan)). Retrieved 2026-01-12.
  5. ^ Hsieh, George (2003). "VC's Decision Factor in Semiconductor Investment" (PDF) (M.S. Thesis). Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Retrieved May 8, 2025.
  6. ^ "Hsieh Kuo-liang 謝國樑" (PDF) (in Chinese (Taiwan)). Legislative Yuan. 2005. Retrieved 11 January 2025.
  7. ^ "A study of an extradition dilemma in the ROC" (LL.M. Thesis) (in Chinese (Taiwan)). National Central Library. Retrieved 2026-01-11.
  8. ^ Yang, Sophia (26 November 2022). "Media mogul, KMT nominee, Hsieh Kuo-liang elected Keelung City mayor". Taiwan News. Retrieved 27 November 2022.
  9. ^ a b Gerber, Abraham (22 February 2015). "Keelung legislator will not run again". Taipei Times. Retrieved 5 May 2016.
  10. ^ Huang, Shelley (10 March 2009). "'Big Brother' bill stirs up DPP anger". Taipei Times. Retrieved 5 May 2016.
  11. ^ Wang, Flora (4 March 2010). "Pan-blues to head all 16 committees at Legislative Yuan". Taipei Times. Retrieved 5 May 2016.
  12. ^ Shih, Hsiu-chuan; Chang, Rich (24 October 2013). "Wiretapped lawmakers want answers". Taipei Times. Retrieved 5 May 2016.
  13. ^ "Hsieh Li-kung says likely to stand for KMT in Keelung". Taipei Times. 23 July 2014. Retrieved 5 May 2016.
  14. ^ Hsiao, Alison (12 July 2014). "Legislator evades Keelung draft". Taipei Times. Retrieved 5 May 2016.
  15. ^ Shih, Hsiu-chuan (11 July 2015). "KMT's Hau Lung-bin to run in Keelung". Taipei Times. Retrieved 18 January 2016.
  16. ^ Teng, Pei-ju (25 May 2022). "KMT selects Legislator Chiang Wan-an as candidate for Taipei mayor". Central News Agency. Retrieved 26 May 2022. Republished as "Chiang Wan-an named as KMT pick for Taipei mayor". Taipei Times. 26 May 2022. Retrieved 26 May 2022.
  17. ^ Lin, Sean (26 November 2022). "ELECTIONS 2022/KMT's Hsieh Kuo-liang claims win in Keelung mayoral election". Central News Agency. Retrieved 27 November 2022.
  18. ^ Wang, Chao-yu (19 September 2023). "謝國樑民調滿意度倒數第2 基市府：虛心接受指導". CNA (in Chinese (Taiwan)). Retrieved 30 June 2024.
  19. ^ Weng, Yu-huang (30 June 2024). "Keelung mayor recall hits threshold". Taipei Times. Retrieved 30 June 2024.
  20. ^ Chiu, Rui-chieh (5 July 2024). "基隆罷免謝國樑連署書 今送市選委會". United Daily News (in Chinese (Taiwan)).
  21. ^ Lin, Ching-yin; Lo, James (16 August 2024). "Recall vote of Keelung mayor set for Oct. 13". Central News Agency. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
  22. ^ Chung, Jake (17 August 2024). "Keelung Mayor Hsieh recall vote is approved". Taipei Times. Retrieved 17 August 2024.
  23. ^ Shen, Worthy; Lai, Sunny (12 October 2024). "Threshold of 77,700 set for Oct. 13 Keelung mayoral recall vote". Central News Agency. Retrieved 12 October 2024.
  24. ^ Wang, Chao-yu; Huang, Sunrise; Liu, Kay (October 12, 2024). "Keelung mayor supporters, recall campaigners rally before Sunday vote". Central News Agency. Retrieved October 13, 2024.
  25. ^ Thompson, James (13 October 2024). "Keelung mayor Hsieh remains in office after defeating recall vote". Central News Agency. Retrieved 13 October 2024. Republished as: "Keelung mayor to keep office after surviving recall". Taipei Times. 14 October 2024. Retrieved 14 October 2024.
  26. ^ Thompson, James; Wang, Cheng-chung; Chen, Jun-hua; Wang, Chao-yu; Wang, Hung-kuo; Ye, Su-ping (13 October 2024). "Politicians react to Keelung mayor Hsieh defeating recall vote". Central News Agency. Retrieved 13 October 2024.
  27. ^ a b "Interview with Hsieh Kuo-liang". Christian Daily (in Chinese (Taiwan)). November 30, 2022. Retrieved 2026-01-11.
  28. ^ "Hsieh Kuo-liang emerges as mayor of Keelung in the 2022 local elections". Wealth Magazine. 2022-11-26. Retrieved 2026-01-11.
  29. ^ a b Lin, Si-hsiang (2022-12-23). "From loving his father since childhood to becoming the mayor of Keelung, Hsieh Kuo-liang will create more indoor playgrounds". Global Views (in Chinese). Retrieved 2026-01-11.
allikas: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hsieh_Kuo-liang